On This Day….. 30th of May

Manchester City v Gillingham was an eventful game at Wembley that seems so long ago whem you see what City have become. For 80 minutes the game remained tense and ultimately goalless. The Gills then struck through Carl Asaba after 81 minutes and Robert Taylor after 87. The game looked won, but the citizens had different ideas and Kevin Horlock gave them a 90th minute lifeline back into the game. Could they? Yes they could…. Paul Dickov netted a 95th minute equalizer to take the game to extra time. After the additional half hour it was down to the drama of a penalty shootout. Having ridden their lick it was the blue side of Manchester that prevailed and clinched promotion winning 3-1 with Nicky Weaver saving 2 of the spotkicks.

2009 – FA Cup Final

Chelsea Caretaker manager Guus Hiddink completed his spell with a trophy followi f a 2-1 victory against Everton. The toffees had taken an early lead as Louis Saga scored the fastest ever FA Cup Final goal after only 25 seconds. Chelsea weren’t fazed by this set back and Didier Drogba headed the blues level 20 minutes later. Chelsea ultimately tasted victory after a Frank Lampard strike with 18 minutes to play settled the game in their favour.

2010 – League Two Playoff Final

Dagenham and Redbridge reached the 3rd tier of English football for the first time after an entertaining game at Wembley watched by a crowd of just over 32k. Paul Benson had given Daggers a 38th minute lead, but Rotherham United equalized immediately from Ryan Taylor. Going in level at half time…. The 2nd half saw Ryan Green give the East Londoners retake the lead, but once again Taylor was on hand shortly afterwards to put the Miller’s level. Daggers weren’t to be denied their greatest achievement as Jon Nurse fired them into League One with 20 minutes remaining.

2011 – Championship Playoff Final

Swansea City booked their seat at the top table of English football after defeating Reading in the Wembley showpiece. Scott Sinclair got the swans off to a great start scoring from the spot in the 21st minute. He then immediately added a 2nd from the restart and Stephen Dobbie put the Welsh club into a commanding half time lead just before the interval. The Royals started well in the 2nd half and after a Joe Allen own goal Matt Mills further reduced the arrears as the Berkshire club put themselves in with a chance. It wasn’t to be though as Scott Sinclair completed his hat-trick with another penalty 10 minutes from time.

2015 – FA Cup Final

Arsenal clinched the 12th FA Cup in their history after a comfortable 4-0 win against Aston Villa. Villa had done a good job in the first half and looked to go into the break level. However, Theo Walcott gave the gunners the lead 5 minutes before the imterval. 2nd half goals from Alexis Sanchez, Per Mertesaker and Olivier Giroud completed the rout and meant Arsenal retained the cup for a 2nd successive season.

What are your memories of these games? Please share in the comments section below….